French, Canadian ministers pledge Afghan support

KABUL (Reuters) - Two of Afghanistan's main allies, France
and Canada, reaffirmed their support on Saturday after meetings
with President Hamid Karzai.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner visited Kabul
after Paris promised an extra 700 soldiers to help battle the
Taliban and he spoke of the importance of "Afghanistanisation,"
when Afghans take over responsibility for tackling their
problems.

The battle was not only against the resurgent Taliban but
also against poverty, corruption and to promote human rights,
good governance and democracy, he said.

"It will only be along this difficult way that we can find
better involvement of the Afghans for their daily life and
future," Kouchner told a news conference.

French officials have said France's reinforcements were
conditional on a more unified overall strategy on issues
including development, and on progressively handing over
responsibility for security and other issues to Afghans.

France is to host a conference on June 12 aimed at raising
funds for Afghanistan and reviewing strategy.

Afghanistan's allies pledged long-term support at a NATO
summit this month but there has been tension within the
alliance over troop contributions.